Even In Death
by BehindTheSmiles
Summary: [Renamed from: "Chin Up, March On"] Though she is an outcast and has single parent, Caitlyn Forbes wouldn't change her life for the world. Her mother and friends are all that she needs, but drama brings itself as the Mikaelsons move into town. (ALL HUMAN)
1. Prologue

**Hey everyone! I'm Rhea and a big shipper of Klaroline! I've been thinking of joining fanfiction for a while and had this idea for a long time.**

**Summary: Though she is an outcast and has single parent, Caitlyn Forbes wouldn't change her life for the world. Her mother and friends are all that she needs, but drama brings itself as the Mikaelsons move into town.**

**00000**

**_Prologue  
Life. Love. Birth_**

She clenched onto her friend's hand as tight as she could and gave one last push. A small angelic cry ran through the small and crowded room, along with faint whimpers that filled Caroline Forbes with joy. She let out a small laugh. She had done it.

The midwife smiled brightly at Caroline, "it's a girl!"

Leaning onto her friend's shoulder, she cried happy tears and asked "Is she okay?"

Passing the baby along to another nurse, the midwife nodded. "Healthy little thing. Would you like to cut the cord?"

Caroline shook her head, "I'll leave that to the godmother." Staring up at her best friend, she saw tears in Lexi's eyes.

Lexi nodded and left Caroline's side for a moment to cut the cord, before heading straight back next to her.

Being pregnant for nine months, Caroline still couldn't get her head around being a mother. She was young and most of Mystic Falls judged her, but as long as she had her two closest friends and her mother by her side, she knew she could do it.

But in the back of her mind, she wondered if he would ever change his mind. Maybe love her again as well as they're newborn daughter. Caroline wished that he was a part of all of this; be there for the scans, the morning sickness and argue what sex the child was. That was the thing you would do with the father to be, not with your mother or godmother of your child.

As if sensing her thoughts, Lexi gently smoothed some of Caroline's hair away from her face, with a small smile painted on her worn out face. "He missed out on the two most beautiful girls."

I rolled my eyes, "We haven't even laid eyes on her yet; how do you know she's beautiful?"

Lexi snorted, "You are her mother. And you also just need to think of the father, no matter how much of a jackass he is."

Caroline couldn't help but silently agree with the last statement.

"I think this little one is ready to meet her mommy." The midwife whispered in a hushed tone, bringing Caroline's daughter, all cleaned and wrapped in a pink blanket, to her. Caroline was first at hesitant, doubt forming in her mind again. But all those cares and worries were erased when another small cry ran from the baby, making Caroline feel even more drawn to her as she reached out.

The midwife carefully placed the baby girl in Caroline's waiting arms. At first, Caroline was surprised at how light her daughter was, she was worried she was going to drop her. But as she fully held her daughter in her arms, Caroline knew she would do nothing to hurt her.

Looking down at her daughter's beauty, she knew that Lexi was right. Though there were some similarities that showed she was Caroline's daughter, the rest of her screamed her father. Especially, with a little yawn, the baby girl opened her blue eyes that reminded her so much of him.

"Do we have a name for this little one?" The midwife asked, her and Lexi both watching the mother and daughter interact with each other.

Not looking up from her baby, Caroline nodded. "Yeah…Caitlyn Alexia Forbes."

**00000**

**That was the prologue! Sorry it was a bit short, but I promise the next chapter will be longer.**

**There will be flashbacks from time to time, some Klaroline and others of Caitlyn growing up. There are gunna be a lot of shocks as well within the story that I have planned, so stay tuned!**

**I would love to thank my newfound beta Lena! You can find her fanfiction link on my profile!**

**And see sneak peeks on my new-found tumblr: behindthesmilesposts**

**Oh, reviews make me smile!**


	2. 1 New Surprises!

**Here's the offical first chapter! As you guys can see, I changed the name from "Chin Up, March On" to "Even In Death". This chapter should explain it.**

**I'm also trying to make a good cover for this story, so bare with me!**

**00000**

_**Chapter One**_

_**New Surprises!**_

_**Sixteen years later...**_

"Caitlyn! Hurry up! You're gonna be late for your first day!" Caroline yelled up the stairs of her house, losing track of how many times this morning she done that.

Caroline, after years of dragging her own child out of bed, finally understood what her own mother was complaining about. Out of all the possible traits she could inherited, why was it the heavy-sleeping?

"Alright!" Caitlyn yelled back down from her room, and Caroline heard a rather large bang, followed by "OW!" Caroline just rolled her eyes with a small laugh.

Making her way back to the kitchen, she narrowed her eyes at her adoptive son's cereal bowl. Dexter Williamson was five years old - going on six in December - African-American boy whom Caroline and her late husband, Keith Williamson, adoptive after they discovered that he wasn't able to have children of his own. Though despite the race differences, Keith and Caroline loved Dexter.

"You finish that Dexter Williamson, or no ice cream tonight." Caroline stated in a firm tone, her parental role showing.

Dexter groaned and pointed to his brother in the baby seat next to him, "Louis doesn't have to eat all of his! Why do I have to?"

Louis Williamson was the two-year child that Caroline discovered she was pregnant with just after Keith's death, which brought some kind of light to the family. Louis looked a lot like his father - like his half-sister did with hers - messy brown hair with Caroline's shining blue eyes.

Caroline just smiled as she sat down at the table with the boys, watching Louis play with his breakfast. "That's because most of the food he doesn't eat, he throws on the floor." She then gave Dexter a stern look, "Don't even think about it."

Dexter scoffed and went back to his breakfast.

Just then, Caitlyn ran into the kitchen and, like always, Caroline was stunned with memories.

Caitlyn had her father's dark blue eyes, as well as dark blonde locks. Her face screamed mainly her father's, but there were some Caroline's as well. Like her smile and the shape of her eyes. Caitlyn also inherited her mother's figure.

"Yum," Caitlyn dumped her bag loudly on the floor and sat in between Louis and Caroline. "Toast!" Sitting at the table, Caitlyn put her foot on her chair, so her knee was rising up above the table. At first, Caroline found that habit of hers annoying, but she had grown used to it and now couldn't imagine life without it.

Just like her father, Caitlyn wasted no time as she eat her toast, not even saying a simple 'Good Morning' to her brothers.

Dexter gave a look of disgust towards Caitlyn, "You look like a pig when you eat."

Caitlyn paused for a moment and swallowed her food as she mumbled, "Well, it's better than having pig poo all over my face."

Shivering at the mere memory, Dexter poked his tongue at his elder sister, who mirrored his actions.

"Settle down children," A voice came from the kitchen doorway and Caroline saw her best friend, Matt Donovan.

Caroline sighed and gave her oldest friend a look, "I gave you that key for emergencies."

"Yeah Uncle Matt!" Caitlyn examined, before taking a bite of her toast. "Have some manners!"

Matt raised his eyebrows at his goddaughter, "Says the girl who is stuffing her face in." He shook his head as Caitlyn ignored him, turning back to Caroline. "I did knock, but no one answered. I just wanted to give Madison her inhaler before she went off to school."

Both Caroline and Caitlyn gave each other confused looks before looking to Matt.

"Madison isn't here." Caroline stated, confusing clear on her face.

Matt narrowed his eyes, "She told me and Lex she was spending the night here, getting ready for school together."

Both of the parents looked to Caitlyn.

Caitlyn exhaled. "Don't look at me!" She took a sip of her juice and shrugged "I didn't even get a text to cover for her!"

Sighing, Matt ran his hand down his face. "When you see Madison, tell her she's in big trouble."

Caitlyn put her thumbs up, finishing off her toast. "Will do, Captain Jo!"

Matt smiled slightly, "See you at the bar Care." With mumbled goodbyes to the children, Matt left, slamming the front door.

"That also reminds me!" Caitlyn stated, wiping her hands with a tissue and she reached for her bag. Pulling out her sketch book, Caitlyn flipped through it, until she found what she was looking for. "This is what I've done so far... It's not my best piece; it's just a rough draft... I'm going to edit it a bit on photoshop too..." Caitlyn found what she was looking for and passed her sketchbook over to her mother. Caroline's eyes widened.

Ever since Caitlyn was young, just like her father, she had a beautiful talent for drawing. She could draw anything. Wanting some more artwork for the bar, Caroline had asked Caitlyn to draw a picture of the photo of Matt and Keith of the opening day.

The Mystic Grill was on for sale eight years ago and, wanting to go into business together, Matt and Keith bought the place. Though it was a struggle at first, Matt and Keith managed to get it into a success, getting live music shows there once a week (Funky Friday) and putting everything at reasonable prices. After Keith died, Caroline took her husband's place, knowing that was what he would have wanted. The drawing was exactly the same as the photo, though without colour. Caroline admired her daughter's gift, as she carefully traced the smooth lines with her finger tips.

"Don't," Caroline started to say as she looked at her daughter. "It's perfect the way it is."

Caitlyn smiled brightly, "Okay, I'll just frame it then?"

Caroline passed Caitlyn's sketchbook over to her, "Yeah, make sure it's a black frame."

Caitlyn nodded, stuffing her sketchbook into her shoulder bag as she stood up. "Well as much as I hate to bite and run…" she grabbed a piece of Louis' cut up toast and ate it. "First day calls for being stupidly on time." She kissed her mother on the cheek.

Caroline returned the kiss and mumbled "Have a good day!" as her daughter began to leave the kitchen,

"You too!" She called, and ruffling her youngest brother's hair, Caitlyn winked at both of them. "See you bros!"

**00000**

The Salvatore Boarding house was alive once again. Damon and Elena Salvatore had moved back the week before school started, so that their twin children could get settled. Elena hoped that this would be a good new start for her son, Peter Salvatore, due to all the trouble he been getting himself into back at his old school. She hoped that Mystic Falls would be good for him.

That was, until he went missing from his bed this morning.

"Milly?" Elena began walking into the Salvatore kitchen where her husband and fifteen year old daughter were, just finishing off their breakfast. "Do you know where your brother is?"

Milly glanced up at her mother, "We may be twin's mom, but we don't read each others minds."

Miranda Salvatore was the most responsible out of the twins, being the eldest of the two by three minutes. She was always cleaning up after her brother's messes and most of the time was sick of it. Even though she doubted it, she secretly hoped that Peter would get his act together.

Damon looked at his concerned wife with a frown, "Have you tried calling him?"

Elena nodded, "He's ignoring them. Do you think he will go to school at all?"

Milly snorted, "Mom, this is Peter we're talking about. He managed to skip school for a whole month before the teachers actually noticed."

Giving his daughter a stern look, Damon said "You young lady, get to school. Now."

Milly put her hands up in peace, "I'm only being honest!" But she picked up her bag, kissed both her parents good bye, and walked out of the house.

Elena sighed when she heard the front door slam, "I don't know what else we can do Damon. I thought the fact we would move someplace else he may at least given it a try."

"It's only been a week Elena," Damon reassured her, as he walked over, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Just give him a little time."

**00000**

"BOO!"

Caitlyn Forbes was just outside Mystic Falls High School and sat at the picnic table that she and her friends always sat at lunch time. But in the mornings, just before the school bell rang, Caitlyn would sit there, sometimes alone, with her sketchbook and started to draw whatever came into her head. She had been doing this before a high, cheerful voice startled her from behind and making her roll her eyes a moment later.

"You're in big trouble," Caitlyn stated, not even bothering to look to see who it was.

She smiled to see her best friend sit down next to her, "Why is that blondie?"

"Because your dad came by this morning…"

Madison Donovan froze for a second

"Shit!" Madison groaned, "I totally forgot to text you to cover for me!" Madison turned back to Caitlyn, "Why didn't cover for me anyway?!"

Caitlyn broke into a laugh as she finally tore herself away from her sketchbook and looked at Madison. "You know what I'm like when I'm put on the spot! I suck at lying on the spot. I need some practise before hand."

Madison rolled her eyes as she leaned her chin on her palm. "How long do you think they'll ground me?"

Caitlyn pretended to think about it, "Probably until the end of the school year." Madison playfully nudged her friend on the shoulder. "Where were you anyway?"

Giving Caitlyn her signature smirk, she shrugged. "At one of Mike Lockwood's parties."

Madison Donovan was not so much of an outcast as her best friend, Caitlyn Forbes. She was the party girl, the dare devil and once feisty blonde-turned-red head. Throughout the girls' lives, they had often been mistaken for twins, or for one another. Though they both had slightly different shades of blonde hair - Caitlyn's being the darker blonde - they both had blue eyes and did in some ways have the same physical shapes. One day, Madison got so sick of people confusing her and Caitlyn; she went to the shop and brought some red hair dye.

That was the type of person that Madison was, she was her own person and loved her independence.

Though, her parents - Matt and Lexi - weren't happy about it, so Madison got grounded for four months. But it was worth it to her and thinking about it now, years later, Caitlyn knew that red hair suited her friend much better than blonde.

"I should have really guessed that," Caitlyn mumbled, "Are you two still friends with benefits? Or has he finally convinced you to become the girlfriend."

Madison snorted, "Trust me; he'll have to be a lot better in bed for me to be in a relationship." Caitlyn rolled her eyes with a laugh. "Besides, he's going to college next year. I rather not start something that I'll know that will end in heartbreak."

The school bell rang then, making all students rushing off to their tutors.

As Caitlyn and Madison got off the picnic table, Caitlyn smiled in confusion with her eyes narrowed. "I thought you said that teen life was all about heartbreak?"

"It is," Madison answered as she grabbed her bag. "But if you can avoid it, then do."

**00000**

The Mystic Grill was quiet, which was no surprise to both Caroline and Matt, since it was the start of school this morning and all the kids should be there. It gave time for plan and think what to do for the next few months as well as plan the private parties they will be hosting. The two were sat side by side, going through paperwork. Matt sighed.

Caroline didn't even have to ask what he was thinking about. "She's fine you know. Madison's a tough girl, she can handle herself."

"I know," Matt let out. "But... she keeps sneaking out and going to these parties..."

"She's sixteen Matt," Caroline smiled at her long-time friend, "Don't you remember what we got up to when we were that age?"

"Yeah, but still... I hoped that Madison would know better. I mean, Carter isn't doing any of that stuff!"

Caroline laughed, "Okay, Matt, firstly, you're son is ten, I sure as hell hope that he isn't going to parties." Matt narrowed his eyes, "And secondly, at that age, kids don't know any better. They're still learning and experiencing life. And to be honest, be glad Madison is like that, I wish Caitlyn would get out more."

Matt shot his friend a sad smile, "Well, the accident was going to have lots of effects on her Care."

"It's not even that though," Caroline sighed, feeling sad for her daughter. "Even before the accident, she didn't go out much. The only time she would go out is if Madison would drag her out."

"That does sound like my daughter." Matt laughed, "Maybe that's just not her thing though. Caitlyn doesn't seem the type to sneak out and party."

"I know, and part of me is glad for that part, you know. Not getting drunk and getting into trouble. But then, I feel like she's missing out on those experiences." Caroline explained, "You know, by that age, I was getting into all sorts of trouble. Getting drunk at the Falls, staying round boys houses, going on road trips without parents permission and-"

Caroline was cut off then by Matt, "Getting knocked up by the age of seventeen?"

Thinking for a moment, Caroline let out a breath. "Okay, maybe it's a good thing that she's not experiencing that life."

**00000**

Caitlyn opened her locket to see a picture of her and Keith, engraved inside was "Even in death". Standing in front of her open locker, with students passing by her, Caitlyn let the memories flood her.

_It was her eleventh birthday and just before they went to the restaurant where her family and friends were waiting for them, Keith said they were going to make a little stop. Caitlyn was curious, but kept her questions to herself, knowing her step-father well enough to know he wouldn't tell her anything._

_They ended up at the Falls, and sat on one of the rocks, Caitlyn and Keith sat in silence for a while, watching the water splashing before them._

_"You know, when I was your age, on my birthday me and my old man always went fishing. I was going to do that with you one year, but when we saw fishes at the pet shop told me you didn't like them very much." Keith chuckled lightly._

_Caitlyn made a face, "Can you blame me? They're so..." Caitlyn shivered before she could finish._

_"Yeah, well, my old man always told me on my birthday that he wasn't always going to be there for me, so I had to look after myself when he wasn't around." Keith sighed slightly as he looked away, deep in thought. "I took that advice to heart and year after year, we barely spoke on those fishing trips. He always made me feel alone in the world, whether he meant to or not. And then I met you're mom and you." Keith smiled down at his step-daughter, "I learned how wrong he was. Because no matter what, even in death, you'll always be there for you're loved ones."_

_Keith paused for a moment as he got a small box out of his pocket, passing it over to Caitlyn._

_"That's why I got you this."_

_Caitlyn opened the box to reveal a silver locket and carefully taking it out; she opened the locket to see a photo of her and Keith and on the other side was engraved "Even In Death"._

_Smiling widely, Caitlyn looked up at Keith._

_"I know I'm not your birth father Caitlyn, but I will always be there for you. You are like a daughter to me and no DNA can say otherwise."_

"Hey."

Caitlyn snapped out of her memory and looked up to see her old friend, Cameron Fell. She and Madison met Cameron during their first year at school, and they have been the "troublesome trio" since they played the legendary green paint prank on their teacher, Mrs Oliver. He was handsome, with dark brown hair and silver grey eyes, along with a good posture, Cameron kept well and fit. If he wanted to, he could be on the football team.

Caitlyn smiled at her friend, closing her locket and grabbing her books from her locket. "Hey, you alright?"

Cameron nodded, "I was actually going to ask you that question. You seemed like a thousand years away."

Laughing lightly, Caitlyn replied "Only five years."

Knowing what Caitlyn was on about, Cameron quickly changed the subject. "So I heard Madison is going to be grounded all because you couldn't cover for her."

Caitlyn rolled her eyes with a grin as the two began walking to their history class that they shared together. "Hey, it was her fault! She should be texting me instead of sticking her tongue down Mike's throat."

From the corner of her eye, she saw Cameron flinch and regretted what she said. Madison was oblivious to Cameron's deep feelings for her; Caitlyn had started to notice it more since Madison started her friends with benefits with Mike - she was surprised that Madison hadn't noticed by now. But Caitlyn had always known, even without Cameron having to tell her.

But, before she could apologize for her comment, they were in class.

As Cameron and Caitlyn went to their normal seats in the middle of the class, Caitlyn couldn't help overhear the conversations between the girls in front of her.

"Have you seen the new history teacher! He's drop dead gorgeous!" Holly, the girl with the nagging voice, said.

"Seen and heard him! He has a drop dead British accent!" Mumbled the girl with the fake blonde hair, Ellie.

The teacher walked in and Caitlyn dug around in her bag for her notepad and pencil case, as well as her sketchbook just in case she got bored.

"Good afternoon class," the teacher spoke, proving fake blonde Ellie right as he showed off his British accent. "I am you're new History Teacher, Elijah Mikaelson."

In the middle of searching around in her bag, Caitlyn's bag drop to the floor, her whole body frozen with shock.

**00000**

Guilt filled her for years.

Regret and guilt haunted her at every turn. Even after her husband's death, she still couldn't bring herself to admit the truth. To make up for that mistake. No, she hid from everyone, her family, from _him_. She wouldn't be able to look him in the eye without the guilt flooding in her veins.

But now, that guilt had turned into an illness. Cancer.

Though the doctors had offered treatment, she refused. Knowing that it was karma doing it's duty. She didn't want to fight what she deserved; too many lies and so much guilt had shadowed her for years. _Sixteen years_.

But she had time now, her last chance, to make up for her mistakes. To set things right.

**00000**

**Well, that was the first chapter!**

**All the Mikaelsons will be in soon enough! Patience is the key!**

**This story is also inspired by One Tree Hill and Keith is inspired by Keith Scott. This is a type of a Klaroline story, but I knew over time that Caroline would try and get on with her life, even though she is still in love with the father of her child.**

**Thanks again to my beta!**


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